The soon-to-be-removed residents of the Silver Court Trailer Park know they can't stay — they're just asking for more time to pack up and leave the homes they've owned for decades.
This past March, mobile home owners at the park in Little Havana were notified by the park owner, Zan Marquis, of California-based Marquis Property Company, that the land would be redeveloped and the residents had six months to vacate the premises. The owner has not said what the park will be redeveloped into, nor has the property been rezoned for a new use as yet.
"I've lived in Silver Court for 25 years," 68-year-old park resident Victoria Diaz told WLRN in Spanish. "They're telling us now that we have to leave because the owner, who's not from here, has a plan that we don't even know about."
Homeowners were offered $10,000 if they leave their trailers by the end of this month, with diminishing stipend amounts the longer they wait to vacate.
Mobile home owners don't own the land their trailers sit on. They purchase a trailer and pay rent to the property owner to live in the park. Oftentimes, the word "mobile home" is misleading because many trailers are stationary and owners can't actually haul them away if asked to leave.
Under Florida law, a mobile home park owner is allowed to close a park and change the land use for the property so long as they give residents six months to vacate.
The residents are now asking for an opportunity to sit down with the park owner and negotiate for more time and money before they uproot their lives, and they want help from their city commissioner, Ralph Rosado.
Rosado hosted community meetings
After mobile homeowners were told they'd have to leave, Rosado hosted community meetings for the park residents to connect them with resources to find new housing. Outside his district office at Coral Gate Park, the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust has a table where they can work with residents to find homes in their price range.
" We work with hundreds of landlords that have apartments available at different price points in different locations throughout the county. There have been a number of individuals and families [from Silver Court] that we've been able to assist," said Paul Imbrone, director of Rent Connect for the Homeless Trust.
READ MORE: Miami-Dade mobile home residents say goodbye after an almost year-long legal battle
When the residents' legal representatives put in a public records request for Rosado's emails, however, they felt that the commissioner had not been transparent with them and believed he knew about the redevelopment before they did.
In an email to Rosado's chief of staff on March 11, Marquis notified Rosado's office about the park's closure and made reference to a previous meeting he had with the commissioner.
“We met with you and the commissioner in your offices a few months ago,” Marquis told Rosado’s chief of staff, Leo Cosio. “Sorry that this was handled so abruptly.”
Cosio told WLRN that the commissioner met with Marquis shortly after he was elected in a June 2025 special election. Cosio said it was an introductory meeting, and the property owner discussed the potential of selling the property but did not share concrete plans.
“That meeting did take place on July 30, 2025 … and all that was said aside from introductions is that there may come a time when the owner sells the trailer park and how that was something they were discussing with previous Commissioner Manolo Reyes and his Chief of Staff,” Cosio said in a written statement.
He added that the owner had not been in contact with Rosado’s office since that July 30 meeting until March 11, and the commissioner's office continues to provide assistance to the residents looking for new homes.
But residents want Rosado to do more to advocate on their behalf. At a demonstration organized outside Rosado's district office on Wednesday, the residents held picket signs and chanted: "Rosado, escucha! Estamos en la lucha!" or, "Rosado, listen up! We're in the fight!"
They want Rosado to facilitate a meeting between them and Marquis and push for them to get three years to relocate. They also want more of a relocation stipend than $10,000 as many of them have invested more than that into the trailers they now have to abandon.
" They thought these were gonna be their forever homes. So to offer them something along the lines of $10,000, not just for them to walk away from those homes, but also to transition to the Miami rental market ... is almost insulting," Carrie Feit, a Community Justice Project attorney representing the Silver Court residents, told WLRN.
Familiar journey for trailer park owners
Their story follows a familiar pattern for many trailer park owners in South Florida who have been displaced by new development. Last October, mobile home owners at the Lil Abner Mobile Home Park in Sweetwater said goodbye to their longtime homes after a protracted court battle with their property owner.
The two trailer park projects share a common link: Urban Group.
The Urban Group is a Fort Lauderdale-based development firm with a hand in property management. In the case of Lil Abner, Urban Group was responsible for managing the park property while residents left and demolition of the existing units was ongoing. Now with Silver Court, the firm is once again handling park management and the “offers of closure” process to park residents.
Matt Rosenbaum, president of The Urban Group, told WLRN the state of the mobile home park necessitated its closure.
"The Silver Court Mobile Home Park is no longer viable as a mobile home park, with mobile home structures suffering from ailments including old age, storm damage, and deterioration. The property owner, 1989 Sunny Court LLC, made the difficult decision to close the property as a mobile home park and change the use of the park," Rosenbaum said in a written statement.
Diaz, a park resident, denies this claim and says many of her neighbors maintain their trailers with care.
"Throughout this process, the owner’s focus remains on complying with the law, treating residents with respect, and providing relocation assistance that exceeds what the law requires so that families can transition to the next chapter of their lives with support and dignity," Rosenbaum said.
Rosado was not at his office during Wednesday's demonstration, and organizers said his office has not responded to their requests to meet.
